I actually started prep after Thanksgiving last year. I took one day off for Christmas. I’ve been perfect on my macros every day. That sounds braggy. I don’t mean it to be, just that I felt so good and calm it isn’t hard. I have a lot of food. A LOT. I haven’t cut my macros yet at all since I started 11 weeks ago. I always do about a 20 week prep. I wasn’t sure how progress would be with all the hormone issues I’m having. I think I had a good week.

I started taking good pics about a month ago. I’m not sure why I waited. But in anycase.. here are the comparisons. I told you, this blog is the reality, not the instagram fairy tale. I have to chip away at every bit of progress.

4 weeks progress.

Food this week was great. I still have taco salad for lunch. I’ve been doing lots of raw veggies and dip. I use cottage cheese for the dip though. We have our prep food down to a science. We can order from Wal-mart’s app and they bring it right out to the car!

Valentines: We did a special meal. I have to say that I should not have tried to go into the grocery store on Valentines Day. All the pink cookies and cakes were really talking to me. I held back macros for dinner so I was hungry! NOOOOO.. that’s not the time to go shopping.

In prep, I try to have a steak or red meat once in while. I don’t really like it except for burgers. I freaking love burgers. We bought lean, grass fed filet and baked potatoes. We made Spinach Salad too. My goal was to have 2 Smore’s. I bought the right Graham crackers. The ones with the cinnamon sugar on them.

The steak, I could not even eat it. I just can’t even get it down. The graham crackers were like cardboard. I haven’t eaten those for ever so I guess they are different. GROSS. I threw those in the trash. Never mind.

Posing: Practicing every single day. My back is on fire!! I’m hoping it will get better and better. It’s really hard.

Always Be Posing #abp

Water: UGH!! Terrible. I need to get it together. I hate it so bad! I’m going to come back next week having hit my water goals. Committed.

Sleep: I had 3 great nights. I felt like a different human! It was freaking amazing. The rest were pretty bad. I know if I had better sleep overall, I’d be doing better on this project.

I have all my wardrobe for both shows!! My wings are coming this week, I’m told. I love my suits that were graciously sent to me by one of my team mates! ❤

A post shared by TracyHoltzmann (@iifymcoachtracy) on Feb 13, 2020 at 7:09am PST

Workouts: Never any issues. I have a lot of pole this week. I’m getting close on my show and need to step up my practice time.

Thoughts: A few times this week, I looked at myself in the mirror with disdain and said “why are you even trying this?”I was able to reset my thoughts and ground myself. This is MY project. It’s about what I can accomplish and I deserve to be on stage just as much as anyone. I am working really hard and focused. But I’m enjoying this process. I like documenting the journey so I can learn!!

I bought this up in one of my other blogs, but having done so much counseling, I don’t even crave things like I used to. I can’t explain that freedom and the relief. Had I not had all the trauma, I’d never have been someone who struggled so hard with eating disorders and using food to cope. But it is what it is.

In prep, I have been able to use it as a coping mechanism and not deal with my issues. It’s a good fit for someone like me and not in a good way.When I hit the wall in 2017 after my last show, I took that time to get my mental health together. It’s been horrible. I’m not going to lie. Horrible.

All that being said, is just to say, this blog goes all the way back to 2014 preps. I can see growth. I hope that in the years to come I can read back on these posts and see even more growth!!

“I workout at home. I am not buying any more equipment. How do I make the workout harder?”
“The workout my coach gave me is too easy.”

So let’s dig right in and talk about your workout and the effort you need to apply to it. For amazing results, it should be intense. That means you should have laser focus and give 100 percent effort to your sessions.

We often see clients walking through their workouts with a very lacadasical pace.

Last week, I got a check in from a client who said “I need harder workouts”.
If you have ever thought that.. you need to work harder. This is on you. I can give my clients a series with 5 pound weights and I anticipate they will kick their own asses with that.

I will give you some really nice ideas here now to increase your intensity and raise your game. I’m throwing shade on that last check in.. Work harder!! I’m squeezing so hard here.. RARRRRRRRRR

Ways to increase intensity:

Lift heavier: I gave Mary Beth 3 sets of 10 reps with her bicep curls. She’s been doing 8 pounds on those curls for 2 months.

Your body gets used to lifting a certain amount and it adapts. So now you need to grab a heavier weight and push your muscle to do more.

Muscles grow when they are challenged!! We have to keep on the progressive overload if we want results so keep lifting heavier!! Look for increases in strength to let you know you are building!! YES.

More reps: Our client said she’s not investing in more weights and the 10 pounds she has to use is all she is going to use. Hmmm..

I asked her to add sets. Progressive overload is still happening by using a more volume training approach. She can do 4 sets of 12-15. I promise you, she will burn out and feel that fatigue!! If you can’t increase weight.. increase reps.

Super sets: This is a fun way to fatigue the muscle. Fun for who? hahahah.. It’s a burn like none other.

Marybeth was given
bicep curls 3×10
Tricep kickbacks 3×10

So she can super set them

Bicep curl 10 reps+Tricep kickback 10 reps3 sets

No rest between those two moves. A super set is just putting two moves in succession. You can super set anything together. After she does her superset, then she will rest. Repeat 3-4 times.

Giant set: adding 3 or more moves in succession before you rest. It’s often called a Circuit.

Let me be clear.. if you can do more.. do more!! If you have energy for a second workout or could go take a class.. you did not do your job. You should be spent.

Ok.. here’s one for you..
Let’s say you are doing cardio blasts at home or the gym. You are bored or just not feeling the effort is there. You can increase intensity in your basic movement by using the STAR method.

STAR stands forSpeedTempoAirRange of Motion (ROM)

How to do this:
Start with a very basic move. Any one will do.
Round 1: do your basic move.
Round 2: change the speed (faster.. slower.. up to you)
Round 3: change the tempo.. to what? Doesn’t matter. Slow, fast slow fast.. just alter the tempo.
Round 4: Add a hop or jump to it!!
Round 5: See how big the movement can be!!
My video below shows this!!

My video shows a very basic movement. It can work with any thing!! You could increase the box height too. You could use a ladder.. you could just do super basic movements on the floor like skaters or jumping jacks. You could use a bosu too!

How to do this for cardio. Set your timer for 30 seconds work/ 10 seconds rest.
Pick one move then do the STAR method. That’s 5 rounds! Or do it twice! Mix and match rounds.. you got this..

In your weight training, you can also somewhat modify this to your lifts. Using tempo changes, holds, less rests, more rests, all create variance in your training. Our bodies need to be pushed.

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Band hacksBands workouts are often mislabeled as too easy or ‘dumb’ but listen.. band workouts are hard.. IF you do it right.

The beauty of using a band is that we can use some pretty intense training styles like time under tension (TUT) to overload the muscle. Time under tension means that your band is tight and your muscle is working against it.The biggest secret I can tell you is to keep your band tight when you are using it. Don’t let it get loose during your set. This video will show you exactly how to get the most from your band workouts and what NOT to do!

One thing to remember, you are fully in charge of the work you are doing. So push really hard!!!

This is Baby Iggy. He’s very sure you can train harder. So go on and do that.

The culture of diets is as hostile as the cult of fitness. There is a mentality that says
“My way or the highway” .

“Keto is the only way to go. Low carb means you lose weight.”“Eat clean to lose weight.”“I only eat Paleo.”“I don’t eat any sugar, ever. It will kill you.”

So may people go from one style to another style in search of the holy grail eating but they foil themselves because.. these things are NOT sustainable.

If you have fat to lose you will do so by being in a calorie deficit. That could be by burning calories, or in taking less calories.

The style of eating you do over all is not what makes you lose weight.

So listen, I can understand wanting to jump on a band wagon for lightning fast results.
I understand the desire to grasp at magic bullets, or extremes but let’s start here.

If these things (diets) were fool proof, we would not have an alarming obesity rate world wide.

But let’s get back to you.. I want to help you feel better about your food choices so let’s give up the labels.

When you are thinking about all the food you ‘cannot’ have.

By nature, the restriction of food groups could trigger binges.Have you ever told yourself, “No more sugar.”
What is it you crave the most while on your new plan? Sugar.
When we restrict ourselves from certain food groups, we are essentially, white knuckling our eating. There’s no peace, there is militant, discipline and on the other side, failure if things don’t go as planned.

By nature, restrictive diets limit food groups and therefore micro nutrition suffers.When you are restricting veggies and fiber your body notices. When you are restricting fruit, you miss out on the glorious nutrition of vibrant colors and sources of vitamins!
When you restrict all sugar, you have to remove pretty much everything fun because even frozen yogurt has lactose which is technically sugar. Bummer.
Dairy can be a great source of protein!
Are you willing to let your overall nutrition suffer so you can sit at the back of the bus with all the ‘bros?’

By nature, labeling our eating style sets us up for failure and it’s not necessary.

This is the big one: The eating disorder, Orthorexia comes to mind here. The clean eater, is terrified of eating anything ‘not clean’ or things that are processed. What we typically see with the clean eater is frequent binges of ‘non clean things’ . So basically, it’s not sustainable.

“I only eat clean, until I’m face down in a bucket of icing or doing late night at Denny’s after the bar.”

“I eat clean, gluten free.. but I love this craft beer and I drink Whey protein”
Both are clearly processed. So it’s only clean because you made up that it is.

We often see the ‘clean eater’ purchasing large amounts of “clean” food for binges.
“I can’t help it. At night I ate 5 RX bars. I feel so bad about myself”
“I can’t stop eating almonds from Trader Joes, they are clean but I can’t lose my belly fat”

IIFYM/FLEXIBLE DIETING/MACRO COUNTING
The problem with labels is.. what difference does it make? You could stop labeling your eating style and follow IIFYM which could be done any way you like.

All food has macros. All food. You can find that information on the label or look up nutrition on sites like FatSecret.com

We set your macros for physique goals .. whatever that is. Then we eat them and stop when we are done. We are not locked into to one style of food and each day we could enjoy variety as long as we are hitting our macros. That mean..

The style of food that we like.. is how we should eat.

Your macros are not dependent on clean food, paleo or zero sugar, but you could eat them any way YOU like.

If you find Dairy upsets your stomach but egg whites are ok.. that’s good! You can choose your own adventure!
If you like a snack treat now and again and it keeps you from feeling deprived, you can certainly work that into your plan without it being detrimental to your physique goals.

If your doctor has asked you to limit gluten or keep your fats at a certain level.. that’s ok too. You can eat for your body, your health and your own likes! You never have to eat food you don’t like.

IIFYM doesnt’ mean you can’t eat toward your style. Use your carbs for fueling your workouts and to get your fiber and veggie/fruit requirements. You are not required to eat poptarts or high carb snacks. But you could.. if they fit your macros.

If you feel better on no grains, you can certainly make that work too.

If you don’t want sugar foods, or snack treats in your life because they trigger you. Maybe you feel better when you don’t eat food like that.. Maybe you just enjoy whole fresh fruits and veggies.. totally fine too. It’s all about YOU.

When you let go of labels, you have no fear of mistakes. You simply figure out how YOU enjoy eating and tweak to hit your macro/micro nutrient goals!!

There is much freedom in the ability to be consistent and live without the restrictions that diet labels give. Being consistent is how you reach your physique goals.

When I wake up each day, I scroll my IG feed for other fitness/pole friends. I am truly motivated by people who are already up and killing it. So don’t call narcissist on anyone who is doing gym selfies. I’m the person who gets hyped when I see happy people at the gym. I see new moves, new ideas and love to see if that’s something I can learn or follow leads to new information!!

This girl is a huge motivator!

Always, pay attention to the Rock!

CENTERING MYSELF AND MY DAY I spend a few minutes centering myself with the #spiritualawakening . I need to focus each day on positives and healing and moving forward. This is self care.

WORKOUT GEAR

I like clothes. I choose my outfits and I go the the gym feeling good. I don’t schlep. It hurts my workout game.

SECURITY/RITUAL

I have a ritual in the AM. I have my amazing prep pancakes because my hubs makes them for me. I smell them and we say “that smells like 1st place.. hahahahah”

I have 2 containers of oats under my prep table at all times. Those are security oats. We will NOT run out of oats.

HACKS My project/prep.. is only 18 hours. It only lasts for the hours I’m awake. I can do 18 hours easily. When I wake up the next day, I repeat what I did yesterday or tweak what I needed to change. I never get mad when I mess up because, I can readjust and go again tomorrow. There is not “fail” there is only learning/adjusting/tweaking.

One thing I do not do, EVER. Not allowed.

I do not make decisions about my day while I am lying in bed. If I want to skip the gym I only allow myself to make that decision after I get up and have a shower or coffee. Do I skip the gym? Yep.. Sometimes, my body needs recovery. Sometimes I can rearrange and do it later. My day is in my control but it’s NOT a knee jerk reaction to being “sleepy, crabby or unmotivated”.

One thing that happens to clients is they constantly throw the baby out with the bathwater. Oh.. I messed up well.. screw it.. I failed.. I’m out.. done.. I’ll find something new to do next week. I’ll try this and that.. but they dont’ NEEEEEEEED something new. They need to be consistent!!

Consistency is not for sale.

Everything we want is waiting for us.. but we have to discover how to motivate ourselves each day to check off the boxes we need to. Soon we have strung together many, many days of success and we are reaching our goals.

When it comes to sticking to your macros while traveling—it doesn’t have to be a struggle… it is what you make it! Don’t let “ but..I travel” be an excuse!

Plan ahead
Before you leave, make the decision made about what foods you are not willing to bend on!

Think about how many meals you will need to pack per day. If you are traveling for business, chances are you know the name of the restaurant that you will be dining at. Pull the menu up online ahead and decide what you are going to have as your meal, or call ahead and explain you have special dietary needs. Don’t feel embarrassed, or ashamed! We have goals and we are sticking to them! Trust me, your guests will respect your decision.. heck they may thank you because now they don’t feel pressured to eat something that’s not on their typical menu!

You can stick closely to the types of food you are typically eating at home. Look for the hidden fats and ask them to be removed from your food.. example: filet, ask them to cook with no oil or butter, veggies ask them to be steamed, or no oil. Salads, really read the ingredients and review everything that it contains… think about your macros… if you don’t want it, ask them to remove it!

We all know the secret to this…and I have to admit, I’m not afraid to just stick with water and lemon, or a diet soda…However you know your macros. Go in with a plan! Remember, You don’t have to take your clothes off to have a good time!

You can stick closely to the types of food you are typically eating at home. Look for the hidden fats and ask them to be removed from your food.. example: filet, ask them to cook with no oil or butter, veggies ask them to be steamed, or no oil. Salads, really read the ingredients and review everything that it contains… think about your macros… if you don’t want it, ask them to remove it!

I most always bring a packets of oatmeal and make a protein shake as my pre-workout meal. If additional carbs are needed, I pack some dried blueberries or cranberries or other fruit. Most workout facilities have fresh apples available, (but don’t count on that).

My post workout meal is usually a shake and oatmeal again if a restaurant isn’t available. Starbucks has those turkey egg white sandwiches that are Divine! (There seems to always be one close to or in the hotel)

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Really, there are so many options and I’m always up for a challenge to myself. How can I make what’s available to me work! It’s like a game of survival… Could you do it?

The Hotel
Search for hotels that offer a mini-fridge and a microwave in the room. Most will bring one to your room at no additional charge or there is a community microwave is available. (However, the Kuerig in the room is easily manipulated to my oatmeal warmer). If I had to choose between the two, I would pick a fridge.

My co-workers know when we travel a gym is super important to me, so we always check it out online before we go or search for nearby full size gyms. Obviously, a hotel most times does not offer the same equipment.

If you need additional items or want something specific, plan to make a trip to a nearby grocery store.

What to Bring?
All food is safe to bring on an airplane, it’s how you pack it that matters. TIP: if you have a suitcase that you are checking, pack your food in a insulated lunch box with an ice pack! It will be fine!

In you carry on bag, pack an empty shaker cup, use this as your water cup throughout the day… you will also get through TSA with it being empty. Once through security, fill it up at a water fountain, or most restaurants are happy to fill it for you with ice water. (I always go in showing a few bucks in my hand)

Snacks: nuts, protein bars, carrots, hummus, rice cakes, almond butter (individual packets are available) lunch meat, protein powder, jerky, apples and other favorites of yours. (Yogurt is subject to the liquid TSA rules, but is available heavily throughout most airports)

In summary, don’t stress or worry, do your best.. and learn from each trip that you take!

The internet is filled with garbage like the above meme. It drives people to shame eat, to self punish and creates disordered eating. I’m here to set this straight for you so you can rise above this nonsense like smart people should.

Sadly, many of us have been used to self punishing for transgressions related to eating.Binge/Restrict: over eating or eating ‘bad’ food followed by starvation or food restriction. Bad food could be considered “not clean” and this falls into the eating disorder Orthorexia. See this blog

“Oh no, I ate that bag of Cheetos, tomorrow .That’s it… No sugar, no caffeine!! I’ll work out two hours a day all week to burn it off.”

Paws up if you’ve been there.

We are going to put this to rest right here. Today. You are going to read this, digest it and reflect on it with peace in your brain so you can stop with all the mental torture.

First of all.. This behavior gets us no where. You and I both know it. Say it out loud. It gets us no where! NOTHING positive comes from this. Repetitive negative self talk begat negative actions which begat more negative self talk and pretty soon.. WTF, you’re falling down a rabbit hole of despair over your inability to lose weight, control your eating . Worse yet.. you feel like a failure because of FOOD. BECAUSE of food!

“OMG, I went out with my friends and had one drink. I couldn’t help myself we got apps. Then I had more drinks and then we went to Denny’s. I said “screw it” and ate a Grand Slam with hash browns and sausage. OMG I woke up today feeling horrible. Why did I do that? I worked so hard this week. I was good until we went out. I shouldn’t go out. I can’t believe I f*cked this up. I can’t believe I’m like this. I’m going to eat what I want to day because “f*ck it” I’ll start my program tomorrow and if I’m GOOD all week then I’ll lose the weight I gained today. “

Monday morning: “I feel disgusting. My pant’s don’t fit me. I look so puffy and disgusting. I don’t even feel like going to the gym. Today I’m not eating until after dinner and no coffee for me. No sugar. Sugar is the devil. I need to get it together. Why did I do this? I can’t believe how I cant’ get my life together.”

Let me help you now. This is common dialog for many of us. I’m going to tell you once again that this behavior is an endless cycle of garbage talk and will never, ever help us reach any goal. If your kiddo spoke to herself, this way or Gawd -forbid a teacher told your kiddo this exact thing, we’d put a stop to this immediately. It’s not healthy.

REALITY SPEAK
We do not assign morality to food. There is no good or bad food.
Listen up all you “sugar is evil” people. I see you. I’m calling you out. You post out how sugar is the devil and I see you eating cookies and candy on Facebook and elsewhere. There is NO morality assigned to food.

A decision I make could be “not helpful to my goal” even if for another person it would be helpful.

“I’m in my prep and very close to stage time. Eating this additional serving of strawberries is not helpful to me today”.

That doesn’t mean eating extra strawberries is wrong for everyone. Just today, my prep goals would not deem the additional food helpful. It’s not a moral issue.

Decisions CAN create for us chaos or harmony for each of us. A decision might create chaos for you but may not be chaotic for someone else.

Here’s two scenarios to consider:
Mary works in an office and it’s the holidays. There is a lot of food and treats there every day. Mary said to herself

“There are so many treats at work and it’s really hard to stay away from them so I’m going to have 1 cupcake on Tuesday and enjoy that. I will have a little bit of Joann’s dessert she ‘s bringing on Friday. I’m excited to try it, she talks about it all the time.”

Same scenario: chaotic

“Oh no, I went to the break room for coffee and I couldn’t help myself because someone handed me a cup cake. I’m just going to eat what I want now. I did so good for so many days but it’s just staring at me. I have to eat it now. I just can’t lose weight. I’m addicted to sugar. I hate myself. I hate my belly. Why am I like this? “

In scenario 1. Mary was accountable and made a decision based on what was helpful to her. She didn’t vilify the food. She didn’t’ blame anyone else for what she ate. She choose what she wanted and it made her happy to eat it. She had a positive experience with the choice and she didn’t’ feel chaotic or the need to punish herself.” #helpful

In scenario 2: The decision she made was NOT helpful to her. She acted impulsively and blamed it on someone handing her the treat. She created a dialog that made her feel ashamed and degrade her ability to reach her goals . She degraded her body. #nothelpful

Punishment: Exercise is not punishment. We do not punish our children with exercise when they don’t pick up their toys. If your kiddo has an ice cream cone, would you then tell her to do 283 burpees? If a coach followed your kiddo from the lunch room to gym class and told them to ‘work off that meal with 680 burpees’ would you feel ok about that? The punishment didn’t fit the crime because eating isn’t a crime.

When we think of this nasty cycle, we are again reminded.. it doesn’t help. It isn’t logical. It doesn’t get us further on our goals. Thoughtful planning and mindfulness with logic will help us understand our decisions.

My guess that you are a decent person. You don’t lie to yourself and you trust yourself . You don’t deserve punishment. We don’t need to do this any more and especially regarding food and exercise. We certainly are smart enough to realize that when things don’t work, we should stop doing them. Can we take some self love and realize that mindset can go farther than 680 burpees? I know we can!!

I posted the Rock’s Instagram so you can click through, follow and get motivated.

When a client begins a new program, they are on fire. They head out and buy new gear and get all their ducks in a row. They immerse down in it ready to slay dragons on their way to their new physique.

That works for a while until they loose their steam. Getting up early is a chore. They begin to fall into old habits and soon their motivation is gone.

What has also happened here is yet another time they have not been successful in their journey. 😦

I wanted to do a blog on motivation but I cannot offer the secrets to staying motivated until I tell you the actual truth. If you are frequent reader of my blog, you’ll hear the same tone resonate. Consistency wins over perfection. Starting and stopping is the opposite of consistency but we sure do find ourselves in that predicament way to often.

Here’s the hard fact: Motivation fades. Discipline is the way change happens.If you find yourself dropping off a program after a certain amount of time, then let’s explore some ways to help you push through that trouble spot.

If you ask the body builder sect, they will tell you to Just F’n do it. Yep. I totally hear that. I totally agree with that. I totally think that some people don’t really know how to do that!!

Here are some of the reasons people start a program.

“My doctor told me to lose weight or I will be facing a health crisis.”“I need to lose weight so I can have the surgery I need.”“I need to lose weight or I will be put on medicine for my blood pressure”“I am told to work out 3 days a week for my health issues.”

When I get this from a client, they already have the motivation to make a change. Wouldn’t you say? You would be surprised how little health issues motivate people.
It’s shocking.

When we talk to them about why they drop off the plan, they use reasons (excuses) like “I just can’t get the food. I can’t find the time. It’s not a good time.”

Motivation for health isn’t enough. This person needs discipline to make this happen.

I want to help my clients to reach their goals and no amount of barking about their health seems to matter. They need tools in their tool box to help create new habits.GOALS:
“A goal is an idea of the future or desired result that a person or a group of people envisions, plans and commits to achieve”

Things I hear from clients“I want to lose weight.”“I want to get back in my smaller clothes”“I want to eat better and be healthy.”

The most successful clients are ones that do not set arbitrary goals like these but more specific/realistic ones.

“I’d like to be one size smaller by Christmas”“I’d like to be wearing my favorite dress again by Easter.”“I’d like to learn to manage my stress eating.”

We also see them do much better when we set long term goals and short term goals.

“Overall, I need to lose 100 pounds but in the next 90 days, my goal is to train4x per week and lose two dress sizes. “

What has been so helpful for my program and clients is we set up 3 month plans. We have a goal, a start day and end day. We then assess, look over what we have learned and begin that process again. It’s not wrong to also set rewards for the end of the challenge. Make it non- food based !!

Challenges
I like to incorporate Challenges into their plan so they are working progressively each week on improvement! You don’t need the 200 squats a day challenge. Progressive challenges are attainable and provide positive reinforcement!!

Plan of action:
To achieve our goals, we are going to be very successful if we are accountable!
My clients use our app to track their progress, workouts and can see an actual spreadsheet of improvements. They can check in their workouts and get achievements for their efforts. Apps like My Fitness Pal or even your Fit Bit are there for the accountability factor!! Tracking your food is simple on the apps so you always know you are on point. No food is eaten without being tracked!! Accountability !

Many clients say they loose steam because are too busy to workout or do their food. Everything seems to go to the back burner. I ask them to book their classes /workouts like it is an important business meeting. One of the things I love about the apps is that you can put your workouts on the calendar and it will signal you if you miss one. Our app syncs with My Fitness Pal so I can see my clients daily food intake!!
Accountability is one of the things clients tell me they need the most. Using tools to help with this is a fantastic way to move forward!

Vision board:
This is fantastic. Vision boards are great for any goals/projects you have set up. I love this board from one of our athletes. She hit the mark on positive text and images for her project!! I recommend this for you too!!

A workout /program buddy or support group.
Having support on your journey is fantastic and actually will help you succeed more than going at it alone. I have found that posting my goals in public or sharing my journey on my social media is very helpful for me.

Many people set up fitness journey accounts on Instagram so those who like to can follow it. I find a lot of inspiration from others who are also on their journey.

Our dear client on her fitness journey!

For me, posting progress, or selfies and telling of my successes and struggles may help someone feel motivated but it’s more for my personal growth. I’ve been able to see trends in my progress as well as just overall accountability to my goal. Personally, I’m going to finish a project if I share it publically.

Facebook has lots of groups or challenges you can join. Our clients have access to our fitness group and macros boards. We can talk about concerns or get new ideas. It’s fun to post personal records and Non scale victories when others are cheering for you.

What I have found is that clients who refuse to be a part of a group fall off faster than those who are part of a community. There is a lot to be said for surrounding yourself with like minded people.

Don’t stand up your friend. If you need a workout buddy, you can set that up at your gym or in a group. Seek this out!! If your buddy is online only, you can share your accountability posts by sending gym selfies so they know you went. The two of you could set your own parameters to help keep you motivated and on track!!

Instagram: I have found that I’m super motivated by my fitness friends and people like The Rock. I always set my alarm for 10 min before I’m going to get up and scroll through my fitness feed for inspiration. I love seeing others training and doing well. It energizes me. I love looking at cute workout clothes and thinking of what I want to wear that day. You may not feel motivated by those things but there is something you can explore to help you set the pace for the day.

If you set up a fitness account for Insta, only follow fitness accounts. Nothing annoys me more than baby pics on my fitness feed. I can load my personal friends accounts on my main account. When I am looking for inspiration, I want to keep my feed focused

What do you do to to stay disciplined/motivated?
This is Bun. He is motivating you with his mind.

Do you need help with your plan? Would you like to be a client and reach your goals!! I can help you! You can find me at http://www.sleekbodyfitness.com
Our coaches do online, in studio and competition training!!

When a new IIFYM client starts my program, I will typically get this questions.
“What should I eat? I don’t know what to eat”

hmmmm..

Ok.. first of all the most important step you can do as a new IIFYMer is to follow directions of the plan. Our plan starts with three full days of tracking YOU.

I ask my clients to fill out their tracker with their normal food for 2 weekdays and 1 weekend day. Looking at your normal eating habits is eye opening. It’s easy to tweak your food so it fits your macros. If you toss the entire way you eat, and are searching for food to eat, you are missing the whole point of IIFYM. EAT WHAT YOU WANT.

If you are low on fiber and protein, then you certainly can figure out how to add more of those. If your carbs and fats are way over, you are going to have to make some adjustments. Simply cutting the serving sizes for overages is one way you can modify . Weigh everything in grams.The protein bar problem.

One client told me she was really sick and tired of trying to find a protein bar that would fit her macros for a snack.

“I need a bar that is 12g protein and 13g Carbs. All the bars have 24g Protein and 26g carbs. “

Ok.. so she probably could simply use half the bar . Right?
Make it fit.

Don’t throw the baby out with the bath water!Clients start this project jumping ahead to the middle instead of following our directions.
A huge mistake is to start with a whole new menu because you “think” you have to.

WE NEVER TELL YOU TO DO THIS. Success in IIFYM comes from the fact that you can eat like YOU. The more it feels like YOU, the more consistent you will be. Consistency wins over perfection.

When you want Qdoba.. add it to your tracker and make it fit. You can use Fatsecret.com to find all kinds of food that you might like if you have a hankering.

Hacks:
AIM FOR PROTEIN FIRST.
Most of our clients come to us eating very little protein. They end up with 100g of protein left at the end of the day and no carbs or fats.

Add your breakfast first. Most of us have a favorite breakfast so put her in there and let’s see how she fits!
This is Ashley’s pancakes with Cinnamon and pumpkin. She tweaked her recipes so it fit her macros.

Add dinner or Movie time carbs nextIf you are fired up about Taco Tuesday, then do yourself a solid and put those tacos in your tracker in the morning or the day before. We call this FRONT LOADING YOUR TRACKER.

You can eat the tacos YOU want! Or what about Pizza!! Maybe you have a pizza craving!! Whatever it is.. put it in so when movie time happens you have your food accounted for.

Fill in what is left for the day!!

HACK:
Front load the whole tracker. Sit down at your PC and add the food you want to eat to your tracker for the next day. Make it fit. Take the time to do it and pick things you want.
Make sure too add your fruit and veggie requirements and your fiber too.

Then hit the PRINT button for your menu. Eat that for 1 or two days. You don’t have to track it again.. just follow the menu.

Even if you don’t want to food prep, you can still make convenient foods fit!
EAT WHAT YOU LIKE.

I did that but someone asked me to have lunch with them and now I don’t know what to eat.

That could happen and that’s why you are learning IIFYM. So move some things around in your plan so you can enjoy lunch with your friend. If you cannot fit it into your macros ask your friend to give you a days notice so you can be prepared!! You are never more than 24 hours away from what you want!!

I filled in my lunch but now I have a bunch of ‘dangling macros left and I dont’ know what to eat.

If you don’t front load your dinner, evening food and eat around that all day.. this could happen.
You can do a flex bowl if you truly can’t get it together.This is the blog on Flex bowls.

Flex bowls are a way to take the protein you have left and create something exciting and fun with the macros you have left.

I had a bunch of macros left over and I don’t want to eat anymore so I’m just going to bed.

ACK we get this quite a bit. Try harder. You need to hit your macros +5/-5 grams every day. That is your job. You are eating like it’s your job so focus. You can do it.

If you end up with 75g protein left at the end of the day.. just move on with your life. Tomorrow, figure out how to eat more protein during the day. Increase the protein at each meal or have something extra to bring your protein up. I like Laughing Cow cheese or even Kraft Shreds. Cottage cheese is packed with protein.

Really? Still have no idea? Go to Ripped Recipes.com and enjoy their recipe search.
Use your computer, NOT your phone because the filters are better!!
You can add the macros you have to work with and get recipes to match.
You can do a whole day or just a certain amount.
This game is like Tetris. You can learn something new every day and when something doesn’t work.. that’s ok. You have a clean tracker tomorrow!! So get on it!!
Let’s see what you can do.

Our Team LOVES Taco Tuesday! Who doesn’t!! IIFYM is bomb because you can make them fit your macros!! Here are a few of our creations! The tacos above are grilled chicken !
Alicia scored this find at Trader Joes! 24g Protein! Holla!
Coach Michelle is on vacation and on prep. Her tacos are on point. That avocado!! Avocados and that wrap have fiber. That’s about 20g fiber right there!
Ashley is about 4 weeks out from her show. This is her masterpiece!

Coach Julia is 7 weeks from her show and this is her taco crunch wrap!
Melissa is 7 weeks from her show. These are her shrimp tacos! I love the lime.
These are mine. I am 13 weeks from stage. Each one of those shells is only 4 carbs.
Jen nailed her macros while eating tacos out! um.. yes please!!
Holy Mama, sometimes you need a taco when you are out. The macros on the Taco Bell Chicken Soft Taco are sweet.

Hack: If you are craving Tacos, front load your tracker with your tacos early in the day and eat around them.

Here’s my 4g Carb Taco shells.

These are in the grocery store or order online. We buy 72 shells at a time!

Melissa did a fun peperoni and sundried tomato version! mmmmmm
Debbie, who is 7 weeks out from her show created this version of the white pizza!

Tips: Pizza is an easy dinner and it has a secret bonus. Flat our or tortilla wraps have fiber.
There are lower carb wraps too. You can create your own toppings from your prep food. You can load veggies if you are into that. You can use full fat or non fat cheese depending on your macros.

You do NOT have to have 12 dry roasted almonds for your fats. You can have other fats!
Cheese has protein. Feta is a great choice too! This is all about you.

Pro-tip: Build your pizza in your tracker in the morning so you can have exactly what you want. Then eat around it for the rest of the day. You can enjoy your evening meal hitting your macros and feeling super smart!